Posted 09-23-2002 at 19:21:25
[Reply][Send Email]Help! Something is taking head and goodies of my chickens! My 2 hens and rooster and a duck are all I have left, and they sleep on my porch now.My cats are even coming in at night. Whatever it is takes the birds to the henhouse to kill them, and my daughter keeps finding them! If you can help it sure would be appreciated.

Mary Hansen

Posted 06-07-2008 at 09:02:12
[Reply][Send Email]hello - I am currently having the same problem, I am missing 3 chickens. I am suspecting raccoons, as I hear them chattering at night time and there are a lot of them. If you are rural, I suggest you get a donkey to guard the property. Or get a live trap. Unfortunately, raccoons will keep coming back once they learn they have a food source. They are habitual creatures.

Good luck

Tom A -- one more thought

Posted 09-24-2002 at 04:30:55
[Reply] [No Email]Actually, there might be one more concern that I just thought of. You didn't say if they had been sleeping in the coop before this happened. You might have rat(s). I had a big male rat decapitate a pullet one time a couple of years back. They were living in tunnels under the concrete floor of the coop and had made a hole up into the coop. They'd come up and feed on the chicken food mostly, but I had a weak pullet that got caught unawares and paid the ultimate sacrifice. It is possible that you have something similar, and the critter isn't dragging the chickens back to the coop, but is getting them while they are in there and when it gets one all the chickens run out because they're scared. Check your coop for signs of rats.

We have them all around our place, and our solution is to secure the chickens in the coop every night. Our coop has both solid wood and hardware cloth (heavy mesh) doors. In the summer we only close the mesh so it doesn't get so hot, but the chickens go inside to roost near sunset every night, and the last thing we do every evening is to secure the doors. First thing in the morning, before we leave for work, is open them up so they can get out and range again. If they're getting predated that fast, they'll be grateful for a safe place to roost and you shouldn't have any trouble getting them to go in after maybe the first time.